"Captain, I must insist that ye feed yer pet. I did nay spend me time an' dedication tryin' to patch 'im up just so ye can ruin it. Throw 'im to the sharks or invest in keepin' 'im around."

Hongjoong rose his eyes from the pistol in his hands. The polished brass reflected the light of his nearby oil lamp and had it dance over Yeosang's features for a moment. Pretty features, worthy of nobility if not for the deep scar that cut along his cheek to disappear beneath his chin.

"'As 'e complained?"

With deliberate movements, the captain put the heavy weapon down on the table in front of him. Then, he swung his feet to the ground with a groan. His back was tense after sitting curled up for so long, and the rum in his veins heated him, but it also left the subtle reminder that he had eaten little today.

"I be startin' to complain. I allowed ye to flog 'im only because I assumed ye would nay 'ave seawater an' a wooden mast rub against those wounds constantly. With all due respect, if ye continue like this, 'e will get sick an' cause an infection still."

Yeosang hissing at Hongjoong could be scary. Getting on the wrong side of a ship's surgeon was never a good idea. Hongjoong didn't want to be the one getting his wounds disinfected with saltwater the next time he got hurt.

With a sigh, he reached for his coat. Cosy warm, it wrapped around his shoulders and created an armour against the ghostly winds with its heavy weight.

"'E would nay 'ang there anymore if 'e weren't so damn block-'eaded. But yer wish be me command. I'll fix this." With a sigh, Hongjoong opened the door. Yeosang followed him with crossed arms on their way out. The moonlight above them cast a pale light on the anchored ship that rested peacefully in the tranquil water. Out in the open sea, the light of the sky was bright enough that they needed no lamps. The misformed lump of a person who made for their figurehead wasn't hard to spot, anyway.

Yeosang stayed in the middle of the deck to watch as Hongjoong approached the man. His boot forcefully came down on the lowest part of the mast, hopefully shaking him awake.

"Ahoy, Cabezon. 'Ad a jolly week out 'ere? It been a while since I checked on ye."

No reply came from the man. Hongjoong rolled his eyes.

He had sent Yunho to control him regularly, so he knew the commander had been glaring full of spite through his wet hair just this morning still. He hadn't asked for water or food, too prideful to admit his defeat.

Hongjoong motioned Yeosang to stay alert. Then he stepped onto the mast. His nimble feet brought him over to the place that the man was fastened to the wet wood. Some waves had hit him pretty brutally in the past few days, and he had spluttered and gasped for air at every single one. Whichever crew members nearby had their great fun laughing at his demise. Hongjoong hated that Yeosang was right, and he had to take him down.

Hongjoong pulled a knife and paid meticulous attention not to cut the man's skin as he freed him from his bindings. Stiff and with no tension, Seonghwa's arms released from the mast. The moment that he understood the issue, his eyes flew open, giving him away.

Originally, Hongjoong had planned to let him dangle off his feet for a while until enough blood had rushed into his head that he became clear again. At the sudden startle when Cabezon's plan to play dead turned on him, Hongjoong recalled Yeosang's disapproving gaze on him. Thus, his hand shot out to grab the man on the back of his stained uniform that was soaked with grimy water. It hung off his form stiffly.

Cabezon coughed when the grip restricted his airways. Still, his arms scrambled to reach for the mast above him. The only thing separating him from the water surface.

"Jolly to spy ye back alive. If ye comply, I'll let me doc take a look at ye. Alternatively, ye be welcome to feed the fish."

The commander's trip trembled, too weak to hold himself up well. When it took him forever to decide, Hongjoong did instead.

With a rough movement, he cut the man's legs free. Then, he hauled him up like a cat would do to its babies. Cabezon landed on the deck roughly. Hongjoong put his knife away before he followed. Yeosang already knelt next to the man a moment later to check at his pulse.

"I'll accompany ye to the sickbay in case 'e attempts anythin'."

When Hongjoong grabbed for Cabezon's arm to sling it across his shoulder, the man weakly tried to push him off. A single stab of the pirate's elbow to his ribs had him still with a groan.

"As if 'e could do any damage in this condition." Huffing, Yeosang supported the commander's other side. Together, they towed him down on the main deck and over to the forecastle. The soldier's feet dragged more than they walked, and his height inconvenienced Hongjoong. Still, he gritted his teeth and hauled the heavy man along.

"Ye make me look too merciful, matey. Now 'e knows that remainin' stubborn keeps 'im alive still."

"The jack tar do nay 'ave plans to save their lives once they fall into the 'ands o' an enemy. 'E just would 'ave died out there. Ye 'ave to change yer game." Yeosang pushed open the door to the sickbay. Together, they threw Seonghwa down on the bed inside. Hongjoong's lips twitched into a smile when the man grunted in pain and curled up around his empty stomach.

"Maybe I get me answers faster if I tie 'im to the rudder. 'E 'as to 'ave survival instincts somewhere."

Yeosang's glare burnt a hole in Hongjoong's forehead. The captain chuckled deviously. Then, he sat down on the desk in Yeosang's personal working room to watch. Yeosang pulled a chair offer wordlessly to sit down next to the bed.

"'Ow do ye feel, Commander?" With brisk fingers, Yeosang rolled Cabezon over onto his stomach and hiked up his uniform. Pale skin that was wrinkly and puffy from the water that had soaked it came into sight. The cuts from the whip had scabbed and begun to heal over. The constant wet state seemed to have helped his body to create new skin.

"Can't you pirates show an ounce of mercy and let me die? It's not as if I had any worth for you. You just want to play your sick games." Cabezon's hair hung into his face, lifeless and roughened from the saltwater. His eyes met Hongjoong's with exhausted hate. The pirate grinned back at him cheerfully.

"Why, ain't that enough fer ye? An' besides, maybe I can get a few doubloons out o' ye. Ye be an 'igh rankin' commander, the Royal Navy would suffer quite a cost losin' ye."

Yeosang towelled off the man's back, unheeding of his little groans and noises of discomfort. Whenever the soldier tried to turn and peek over his shoulder, Yeosang brusquely pushed his face back down into the sheets. After the third time, Seonghwa held still to let him work in peace.

"I get you want to make me and my fellow soldiers suffer because you feel wronged for being punished for your crimes. Your foolishness to understand the law might be beyond me, but as humans, you might think you are being the ones targeted unrightfully. But get this, my suffering won't change your circumstances. Our world punishes those who murder and plunder, and if you-"

Hongjoong interrupted his litany of suffering. With a knife, he idly scraped the dirt out from beneath his nails and blew it off the blade.

"Ye think too 'igh o' yerself. I ain't tryin' to question yer foolish laws. Me spotlights be directed just at ye, Cabezon."

Puzzlement took over Seonghwa's features. A frown marred him as he once more tried to get behind Hongjoong's motive.

"Yeosang, do ye reckon that the next floggin' be allowed?"

Agitated, Yeosang slapped some more ointment on Seonghwa's back. The man flinched as his skin gradually warmed after the long nights outside, only to be hit by the coldness again.

"Aye. But no belayin' 'im to any masts, bowsprits, or rudders. Ye gotta keep 'im inside if ye do nay want 'im to die o' a fever. Best if it ain't the bilge either."

Hongjoong hummed, swaying his head left and right. Then his eyes found the commander again. Quiet and obedient in his hunger-induced weakness, he laid on the bed.

"What do ye prefer? Want to stay outside an' away from us, or want me to whip ye again, but let ye heal accordingly inside? Fear not, both will keep ye alive an' give ye no option to blame yer death on us."

Seonghwa's jaw flexed when he ground his teeth together. Hongjoong wondered if he used the pain in his jaw as means of distraction from them.

But again, the soldier wavered. After the week outside switching up the ranks to the warm interior of the ship filled with laughter and food sounded like paradise. But would the snotty soldier allow himself to mingle with pirates? Hongjoong stopped playing with his knife as he breathlessly waited for a reply.

"Where... Where would I be when I'm inside? I don't want to be near your men."

A devious grin tugged on Hongjoong's lips. He knew that what he was about to say was a loss on his part also, but even more so on the commander's account. When Yeosang rose his voice to speak up, Hongjoong gestured for him to keep quiet.

"Sadly, I can nay allow ye to stay with Yeosang in the sickbay since we ain't trustin' ye with that. The only offer I 'ave away from me crew be me own quarters. Do ye mind sharin' a bed with me, oh great Commander?"

The grin on Hongjoong's face had Seonghwa narrow his eyes at him.

"I would rather not. How about you spend some quality time with your crew and sleep with them and I take your cabin?" Cabezon's chilly reply had Hongjoong's eyes gleam like the blade of his knife. He rammed the weapon back into his belt, making Seonghwa's eyes twitch.

"Ye be gutsy fer a prisoner. I can appreciate that. Choose. Me cabin or stayin' outside."

"I would rather stay outside, then. On the mast rather than the bowsprit."

Hongjoong nodded, still patient. He would get his revenge soon enough. The man might still hesitate, but he would not keep this up forever. Another lashing, another while of the crew mocking him, and he would come running to crawl under Hongjoong's sheets all by himself.

Yeosang sighed at their exchange.

"Give 'im food an' a dry place to be, then. A blanket fer frosty nights."

The second of sympathy that crossed Seonghwa's face was wiped out when Yeosang tightened the bandage he had put around his leg. Someone had hurt him there in the battle and the cut was doing fine since he barely used that part of his body. He should be thankful.

"Ye called 'im me pet earlier. Maybe I will get 'im a leash an' a little kennel to curl up in." With a cruel smile, Hongjoong jumped to his feet. When he grabbed Seonghwa's arm to pull him up, the man struggled to shove him off with all remaining strength. The attempt was pitiful and Hongjoong laughed at his face.

Back outside on the deck, they brought Seonghwa up to the captain's quarters. In front of the door, Yeosang tied a rope to the railing next to the steering wheel to keep Seonghwa's hands and feet bound there. Hongjoong fetched the man a blanket that he brazenly threw over his lap. The soldier scowled at the treatment, but he had learned not to complain. Hongjoong was pleased.

While Yeosang guarded the man, Hongjoong got him something to eat and drink. He put both in bowls as if he would to an actual dog. Once he returned to sit opposite Seonghwa in the moonlit night, the surgeon excused himself to go to bed.

Hongjoong sweetly grinned at the hateful man.

"Do ye want me to feed ye or eat out o' those bowls like the mutt ye be?"

"You can't tell me that the navy ever treated you like this. Point the man out to me and I will have him thrown into jail. This is just for your own sick pleasure," Seonghwa growled at Hongjoong, but he was no threat. The topmost button of his coat was open, messing up his look. Hongjoong couldn't wait until he noticed and tried to fix it with his chin.

"Aye, ye be right there. But I be havin' too much fun to avast. Want to be fed?"

Cabezon shook his head, adamant. Patiently, Hongjoong pushed the bowls over just so that Seonghwa would put a strain on his back if he leaned to eat. His gruesome grin widened.

"There, enjoy yer feast. Since it be late, I will nay watch ye tonight. This be me apology fer makin' matters worse with yer wounds after I promised not to. If ye cause any ruckus, I will make it hurt fer ye."

With those words, Hongjoong marched inside his cabin. He kicked off his boots and blew out the candles. Yet, he stood at the door half an hour later to watch through the bullseye how the commander ate from his bowls once he thought himself clear. He had to bow his head towards Hongjoong's door to do so, and Hongjoong grinned in the dark of his room.

The sight was similar to what Seonghwa had done back then. Hongjoong's hurt pride was pleased.